Modeling Consciousness in Virtual Computational Machines
Norman Koch, David J. Chalmers
2008
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that understanding consciousness and building a conscious machine can be approached through informational machines and analyses, distinguishing functional approaches (leading to algorithmic methods and conventional programming) from phenomenological approaches (leading to neural network analyses). The paper reviews origins and contributions of several researchers and draws attention to many open questions, with speculation on future work. |
Abstract
This paper describes the efforts of those who work with informational machines and with informational analyses to provide a basis for understanding consciousness and for speculating on what it would take to make a conscious machine. Some of the origins of these considerations are covered and the contributions of several researchers are reviewed. A distinction is drawn between functional and phenomenological approaches showing how the former lead to algorithmic methods based on conventional programming, while the latter lead to neural network analyses. Attention is drawn to the many open questions that this approach generates and some speculation on what future work might bring is included.